Compliments by Mari K. Cicero Read Free Book Online Page B

weight of someone’s eyes on me. My pulse spikes as my unsettled heart thinks it might be Hawk. However, relief and disappointment wash through me when I look up to see Prof. Ferris standing in the doorway of my office.
    “Got a second, Robin?”
    “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”
    A clipboard dangles at her side. She brings it up for perusal, tracing a finger over the page. “I know I have you assigned to Whitmore Elementary tomorrow, but I actually had a request for you specifically at a different site. I don’t normally like students to do two rotations at the same place, but the instructor seemed very insistent.”
    I shrug, thinking how well my improved presentation is paying off if I’m being asked back. A momentary flicker of excitement runs through me when I think about telling Hawk the good news, followed by a hollowing of my gut when I remember why I can’t.
    “It’s fine by me, if you don’t see a problem with it,” I answer.
    Wearing a smile, she makes a note. “Great! Hawk will be so happy you—”
    “Wait, Hawk?” I interrupt. Prof. Ferris’s eyebrows knit together. “You’re sending me to the Community Outreach Program again?”
    “Is … there … a problem with that?”
    Is there a problem? Is she serious? Forget how embarrassing it’s going to be to see him after the toe-curling kiss we had, only for me to then storm out on him, but to make the first time I see him again happen in front of a potentially hostile audience to boot? Oh no, no problem at all. Why not give me a megaphone and I’ll hop a plane back to Colorado where I can announce on campus the details of the tattoo on Matthias Gnomon’s left butt cheek?
    A deep breath helps me to not look like a mental patient in front of my boss. The last thing I need is for history to repeat itself here. Even if Hawk is just the janitor and not someone on the faculty as with Colorado, I’ve had enough of office politics and romances to last me a lifetime.
    “Of course not. No problem at all.”

    Sitting in my car on the far side of the parking lot, I wait until I see the familiar RAV-4 take a spot in a stall closer to the classroom. Hawk’s perfectly on time; arriving at seven fifty-nine and strutting through the classroom entrance just as my clock reads eight. I don’t want to create a situation where we’ll have a chance to talk before he starts class. I try to ignore how his academic clothes—today black corduroys and a pressed white shirt—make him so much more tempting. For good measure, I wait until five after before grabbing my bag, locking my doors, and heading toward the building.
    As I pull back the door and enter the classroom, I’m shocked to find it completely empty. Except for the instructor, of course. He’s at the front of the classroom, leaning back onto the corner of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest and a knowing grin plastered on his face.
    “You’re late.”
    “I’m late?” I turn my head to indicate the empty room. “Where’s the class?”
    He pushes off the desk and starts a measured advance in my direction. “Administrative day, no classes.”
    Wouldn’t the parking lot have been empty? Or was I just too focused on looking for one specific car that I didn’t realize there weren’t many others around?
    “I wasn’t sure if Joanna was going to remember when I called her,” he continues. “Lucky for me, she didn’t. Then again, there’s no such thing as luck. Only probability and the twisting of numbers.” He throws my words back at me with a taunting grin. “Every mathematician knows that.”
    “And you twisted my numbers and got me here. Alone. How very convenient for you.”
    “Not in the least. I was planning on sleeping in today.” He pauses halfway across the room. “Maybe that shows you how much I wanted to talk to you. I don’t give up a late morning for just anybody.”
    “You should have slept in,” I return. “You would have gotten a lot more out of that than you’re